Partner
by Raven-DG
Summary: He’s not willing to give her the partnership that they had. one-shot, Sheva POV, slight/hinted/whatever ChxJ, slight spoilers for RE5, and last but not least ever so slight AU. Takes place fairly early on in the game.


**Resident Evil belongs to Capcom. Minor spoilers for Resident Evil 5.**

**Partner**

**Summary**: He's not willing to give her the partnership that they had. (Sheva POV, slight/hinted/whatever ChxJ, one-shot, slight spoilers for RE5, and last but not least ever so slight AU. Takes place fairly early on in the game.)

**Authors Note**: …I haven't written a fanfiction for over five years. It took, Resident Evil wise, three new games and multiple replays of the original versions of the games for me to gain inspiration to even THINK about writing.

…Well, enjoy the rusty debacle. :)

* * *

She had thought him a bit strange the first time they met. Strange and very… off-putting…

No, not off-putting. _Ver. Faraka_. Aloof, cool headed, very… to-the-point have to get it done if little diversion was more like it. There didn't seem to be enough words in enough languages on the continent to describe this aspect of him. Sheva had no problems with the older man being as such, after all, no law demanded someone to be open, smiling, and welcoming all the time.

But it certainly did not mean that it was not going to annoy her while they worked.

Chris made no indication that he was going to allow this partnership with Sheva to go any further than where it was at. Trudging through the African wilderness with a FUBAR mission, vague indications on his ulterior mission of rescuing a woman he had only called _partner _up until this point… this was how it seemed it was going to last until they saw each of their own agendas that they were going to see through. And THAT was what bothered Sheva, It wasn't the mission, though the mission and this were constantly interchanging between first and second on the mental priority list, but it was the fact that he placed so much emphasis on the word _partner _when he brought the other woman up. She had never quite heard a single word used in two very different ways when describing people. Sure they had the same definition as one another, but the tone, the words being said behind the words just screamed a different meaning all together.

_"Sheva, you don't have to do this you can still back out." _

"_What about you?"_ she worriedly asked. She wasn't going to leave a still surviving member behind. Or at least, that was the thought she forced herself to think. Maybe somewhere in the back of her mind at the time she just didn't want to walk out of this on her own.

_"I've got a personal stake in this"_

…What the hell was he talking about? She remembered looking at him for several moments, her ears almost ringing partially from the several explosions that had been triggered several minutes before in vain attempts to harm the now dead giant.

Had she just heard him correctly?

"_A personal stake? Chris, look around. We should both get the hell out of here!" _

"_I'm not just here for the mission."_ Calm as ever, his face a look of feint, grim determination, but otherwise unreadable.

"What are you talking about?"

"_A while back I received some intel that my old partner,_" there was that damn term again, _"was still alive. At first I didn't know what to think. But when I saw the data file from Delta team I knew for sure. Jill is still alive." _

This was the first time he had used Jill's name when talking to Sheva. Regardless, and the name meaning nothing to her at the moment, she felt her bewilderment and a bit of frustration rear their ugly heads.

"_That woman from the data file… are you even sure that it's the same person?"_

"_We were _partners_."_ Emphasis on the word. _"I'm sure."_

_And you went and followed after him as he walked away, _Sheva inwardly sighed. Part of her was proud that she had made the decision; the other part was anxious and nervous at the same time. It was just the two of them against whatever the hell was going on.

Sheva had asked later if they had been close, him and Jill. Chris's response, regardless of how coolly he answered, was nothing but the exact answer she knew was coming. They were just _partners_.

_That wasn't what I had asked, _She had thought when he responded, but didn't push the issue. She wasn't an idiot, she found it safe to assume, all childhood rhymes about doing so aside, that it went beyond just work between Chris and…whoever this Jill was.

Chris was prepared to go through hell and high water for her. No, he _was_ already going through hell and high water. And Sheva was willingly going along for the ride.

_Maybe he's even willing to go to his death_, she found herself darkly musing once as they sat in silence, her eyes flicking out across the swamp as she kept an eye out for any sign of danger. Her clothing was getting damp in the process of sitting there, but it was refreshing regardless of the temperature drop from day to night.

She knew she had no right to complain about the lack of trust between her and Chris, after all, they had only known each other for a grand total of a day and a half or so. Chris and Jill knew each other for… who knew how long, Sheva could only guess. She was lucky that he had her back during this nightmarish time and she was trying her damndest to have his.

However, currently sitting as a passenger and a look out when the talking between the two was kept to a minimum, there was little room to really ask any more questions. He had spoken about why he was here, she had spoken about why she was here… any more questions aimed at him and she thought that she would never be able to get more information from Chris.

_In due time, let him be, it's none of your business anyway. _

For now she could only reflect on past conversations. Reflect and guess

"_I'm going with you. These are my people who are dying here."_ It was an abrupt change of mind, the words exiting her mouth as soon as she thought of them. It was all she had to come up with. It wasn't a lie, hardly so in fact, and she wasn't using it as an excuse. Maybe seeing the horrors first hand was enough for her to jerk her thoughts around at how serious the situation has become.

Probably because she really didn't want to see another comrade dead as well.

Maybe.

"_Are you sure about this? A second ago you were ready to cut and run."_

_True_, Sheva remembered she had thought. But she kept her ground on her decision, forcing herself to be more determined and brave about the scenario. A feat easier said than done considering. Maybe she could succeed where the others have failed.

"_I can't just turn my back and walk away."_ It was too late at that point anyway to turn around. She was trying to smother the internal want to walk out of it, explaining the situation over and over to herself that there was no option.

"_There are no more orders from here on end. It's just us."_

It was like he _wanted _to work alone on this. As soon as the words left his mouth, Sheva locked her eyes directly on his. She kept her tone level when she spoke.

"_We're partners, to the end. Now lets get moving."_

There. She had said it, throwing the frequently used word back at Chris as if in a reminder that that was what they were, partners, that chaining word . At least now they were, as strained as it was. Sheva moved past him towards the airboat, flashing a small smile at Chris as she did so.

"…_Copy that."_ Was the gruff, and very forced response, or at least that was what Sheva heard him say. It was delayed as if he had been debating whether or not to allow her to come with him or to see if she was actually being serious about the situation. She glanced over her shoulder and saw him following after her, giving a slight nod of her head to show that she was keeping her word about going.

…He really didn't want to admit that she was his partner for this mission, did he? It wasn't like she was trying to take Jill's place or anything; she just wanted some semblance of trust.

Regardless of what had been said an hour or so before, she was here, now, her own mission to take care of the problem that was causing all of this bizarre, infected chaos. He was the one driving the airboat on his own mission to find and presumably save the woman known as Jill. Either way, they were both involved against whoever was causing all of this so at least they had one common objective. They were going to have to work together whether they liked it or not. That is, if they wanted to survive this.

_After all_, Sheva thought as a slight smirk crossed her face when she saw the landing dock, _we're partners._

_

* * *

_

Well, that pain didn't last long, did it? This was inspired by how many times the word "partner" is tossed around between Chris and Sheva in the early half of the game…I think in game they used the word "partner" every other sentence, at least early on.

Partner!

Partner?

2 for 30! You unlocked "A friend in need" and "Lifeguard"!

…. Thanks for reading. My writing's dusty, so, here's what I ask of you: Hate it, love it, like it just a smidge…Go ahead, RnR. Key to being a good reviewer, constructive criticisms, I'll love you forever if you leave them.

.


End file.
